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But I'm certainly willing to give credit where it is due. We were one botched referee call from the playoffs! And if we win one playoff game vs. KC like the Chargers did, we would have had quite a season (after starting 0-4).

Now, I hope he is honest and self-critical, because the 0-4 hole was self-induced. And it was largely related to a flawed evaluation process... that thought Mike Adams was a viable LT candidate. If you boil it down, that one personnel move cost us a playoff berth.

I don't think it was that one move. I think Miller and Bell being hurt early really set us back too. If you have both those guys playing like they were mid season and especially at the end, we win two of those first four games.

People will never give him the credit, but I also think that Spaeth being hurt really hurt our pass protection because he could have been in place to help Adams out until he got his feet under him. If you had a good blocker like Spaeth helping out on Adfams' side maybe things don't snowball like they did.

I think you also have to factor in the zone blocking scheme that wasn't. How much time was invested in that and then it wasn't used?

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

I don't see anything impressive about finally starting to beat teams you should have been beating earlier. They only "good" team they played all year was the bungles (who suck on the road) and the pats* (who they got destroyed by). They had an easy schedule this year. No, Carolina, SF, Seattle, Indy, Denver, New Orleans, ETC... They played ONE great QB and got killed. They played GB with a guy who was cut a week before by another team. I just don't get all the excitement because they beat a few bad teams and a couple average teams.

This. The Steelers had a cream puff schedule. I'm glad they were winning more games at the end of the year, and it was good to see some offensive improvement, because those things may give a little something to build on. But let's be realistic...if this team doesn't take seriously its need to make some changes, we're probably looking at 8-8 again next season. And I can't get excited about that.

This. The Steelers had a cream puff schedule. I'm glad they were winning more games at the end of the year, and it was good to see some offensive improvement, because those things may give a little something to build on. But let's be realistic...if this team doesn't take seriously its need to make some changes, we're probably looking at 8-8 again next season. And I can't get excited about that.

There is no such thing as a cream puff schedule in the NFL. Fans need to get over the belief that the Steelers are better then other teams by a wide margin. Key mistakes have a way contributing to losses. The Steelers simply turned the ball over to much in the first 4 games of the season. As a result, the team started the season 0-4. The key change the Steelers needed to make was simply taking better care of the football.

Going by 2012 records, the Steelers' 2013 opponents had a winning percentage of .496. Going by 2013 regular season records, the winning percentage of their opponents was only .466. Only 3 games in the entire season were against teams that ended up winning more than half their games! Maybe "cream puff" was not the right terminology, but the Steelers' 2013 schedule was about as close to it as it gets.

I agree with you that mistakes were a big part of their 0-4 start, but even after they cleaned that up, they still weren't exactly playing like worldbeaters. If they are going to be able to contend with the best teams, they still have their work cut out for them.

I don't think it was that one move. I think Miller and Bell being hurt early really set us back too. If you have both those guys playing like they were mid season and especially at the end, we win two of those first four games.

People will never give him the credit, but I also think that Spaeth being hurt really hurt our pass protection because he could have been in place to help Adams out until he got his feet under him. If you had a good blocker like Spaeth helping out on Adfams' side maybe things don't snowball like they did.

I think you also have to factor in the zone blocking scheme that wasn't. How much time was invested in that and then it wasn't used?

every team in the league can say 'if they played at the beginning like they did in the middle or end of the season'. all teams gel and get better as the season goes.
spaeth may have ben millers blocking replacement, but a pass catching TE was ignored
i also would think that every olineman that was in camp got multiple reps with the ZB. i find it hard to believe that just because pouncey goes down they are now forced to scrap it. either it wasnt coached up correctly or they chose to keep players that werent good at it.
i dont doubt those things set us back, but probably no more than injuries and such did to all the other teams in the league. we didnt have the players or the coaches to overcome it tho'

1) First ballot HOF, ROTY
2) All Pro first year, first round talent that fell to us in second
3) Starter for years to come, cant believe he fell
4) Absolute steal of draft, 2nd round grade
5) Back up at first then starter for 10 years
6) Incredible depth and ST demon
7) Amazing value, shoulda went 3 rounds earlier

ummm, the original poster said if those 2 players(miller and bell) were at mid or end of year form
are you telling me all those teams you have listed dont have 2 players that were playing better as the year went on?
team w/l records dont determine if the players or team has gotten better, just whether they won or loss.

Last edited by squidkid; 01-20-2014 at 03:30 PM.

1) First ballot HOF, ROTY
2) All Pro first year, first round talent that fell to us in second
3) Starter for years to come, cant believe he fell
4) Absolute steal of draft, 2nd round grade
5) Back up at first then starter for 10 years
6) Incredible depth and ST demon
7) Amazing value, shoulda went 3 rounds earlier